Knitting machine



1% W43. 3A. H. ADAMS, JR 2 ,308,580

KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 19, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llllllllIlllllllllllllll interval arrives or g do this, the machine would have to-be slowed down to the pace ators eye moves yarn while she is comparing these with astandis compared with the and hence relatively Patented Jan. 19, 1943 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE xm'r'rnvc moms Newar- N. 1., assignor to Colorspacc Patent Corporation, Newark, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey 1 Application March 19, 1942, Serial No. 435,240 1 Claims- (01. 66-125) Arthur B. Adams, J15,

This invention relates to new and useful immovements in the art of imitting, and more particularly in machine knitting withv polychrome yarn to produce predetermined patterns.

Heretoiore, polychrome yarn, i. e., yarn having differently colored portions recurring in a definite sequence throughout knitted by hand and by machine disnlay s Leech.

Excellent as these its length, has been into fabrics predictable patterns. In ,machine. knittin the position. or a colored spot of the at certain intervals by a photo methods are within their In the drawings 1 Griswold circular knitting ma- Fig. 5 is a top plan view or a circular knitting machine;

Fig. 6 is' Fig. '7 is a cross-section along lines 'I"-'|" Fig. 5.

The knitting machines per so are well known. show a Lamb flat knittin machine and a chineybut the chines or many invention is applicable to maother types. In the following I shall describe mainly the application of the pres the length ofthe stitches- .1 results of these inter-.

and I is long enough quences which cession oired,

iields, I have found it impossible to apply them to knitting machines under human rather than control. The operation is too rapid l board is and the post 4 and serves as tical sheet serving electric eye I for the eye to record at a particular interval of time or for each stitch the changes that occur, and then eiiect. the adjustment before the next the next stitch is formed. To

of hand knitting. oi the present It is the object knitting oi polychrome yarn into iabrics having'predetermine patterns bymachines which function at much greater speeds than hand knitting and the adjustment of which is under the control of human operators.

Several arrangements for attaining this object are disclosed. One of the common characteristics oi all'these arrangements is-that the operwith the colored spots on the invention to from the edge or 1 InFig. l, the yami wanna.

' colored spots on yarn nt invention to these standard machines.

shown) between yarn guides 2 and 3 provided on an upright 4 mounted on carriage i of the ma chine. The vertical stretch of yarn between 2 to include several color sewe shall assume consist of a sucwhite and green spots, marked R.

v A displayboard or easel 6 is mounted on legs 1 projecting from the base of the a support for a ver- Marks in the form of stripes card I corresponding in color and spacing to the I, in the present case red.

white and green. The stripes The width and slope or these stripes aresuch thatasthe yam transversely during the knitting operation, its a colored spots will correspondingly all the colors need appear on this color guide.

In a flat knitting machine the lateral move- 7 and and that a relatively long fstretch or yarnv can dothis even while'the yarn moves machine is made possible.

The invention will be described in greater as:

standard. The human eye rapidly:- high speed operation or the tail in connection with the drawings 'inwhich Pig. 1 ins. front elevation of a datknitting maj H 2 is a cross-section aiong lines i i'r 'f of new controlling;

:2 and 3 as related to the stationary n'eedlesdurin between 2 and I, 5 ,moves with to the axis of the yarn. If, ea e. the yarn 1 guides, then its path is moved longitudinally and alignmen be always in g of card 8.- Not colored portions ment of the carriage 5 imparted to it through a rack and gear drive ii. I! is approximately in proportion with the rate of yarn feed to the I the greater part of the stroke. -Since the yarn travels long and since this length of yarn the carriage, the longitudinal and lateral movements oi the length of yarn between I .will be resolved into a movement at an angle as in the present travels vertically between the with respect to the ary backgro d will be diagonal and this path is marked on 8 by the sloping stripes to afford the operator the opportunity oi continuously check-' a cross-section along lines 6"--8" of Fig. 5: and

passes from a supply (not machine. The between the vertical length of yarn 2-3- as a color guide card- 8. are painted on the slope downward the sheet towards the center.

knittin over a relatively I v a stretch (from several inches to several feet) background stationing the colored spots on the thereto. Fig. 1 shows the yarn 4 moving from left to right.

The particular yarn with respect 2-3 and the post with the yarn, and as it keeps two run more and more transverse to one another.

By regulating the size ofthe stitches, the operator may vary the are regulated by means of a large hand wheel 20 rotatably mounted on a shaft 2| projecting from carriage 5. A gear wheel 22 carried by shaft 2| and rotatable therewith is in mesh with a second gear wheel 23 (Fig. 3) rotatably mounted on carriage 5. The gear 23 rotates an excentric 2i and the gear 22 an excentric 25 which in the raising and lowering of cams 2B and 21 mounted on a cam plate IS. The longitudinal movement of the needles, e. g., 28 (Fig. 2) is determined by these two cams. When, as viewed in Fig. 3, the cams are traveling with the carriage from right-to-lett, the left-hand edge of cam 21 leased by cam 28 the needle rises again slightly to its original position.

When the cams travel in the opposite direction, then cam 21 performs the knitting stroke.

Since the length of yarn and thus insuring the a predetermined color pattern.

It at the end of the travel of the carriage 5, from left-to-right as viewed in Fig. 3, a tab 3| to rise so that the shoulders of the needles will pass under it. Then if at the end of the travel from right-to-leit, 3| hits another stop, the mathe well known manner control chine will knit again from leit-to-right on the next stroke.

The left-hand side of Fig. 2 illustrates the back of the machine which is identical with the front. If stops are suitably placed, the trout and back of the machine will each knit in one direction only. producing circular knitting. It is suificient in circular knitting ii the length of the stitches is controlled during one-halt of the travel since irregularities produced during the second hall of the travel will not critically aii'ect the color pattern.

It knitting is to be tions 01' travel,

set of colored stripes while the yarn travels from During the knitting operation, a red, white and green colored band will appear to be moving along slot ti and the operator's duty will be to adjust the stitches so as to keep the colored spots on the yarn in step. A similar eflect is produced ment applied to the circular disclosed in Figs. 5--7.

A band 50 dyed in the same manner as the yarn 5| is formed into an endless belt around two wheels 52 and 53. Wheel with the arrangeknitting machine 62 01' the knitting machine.

The gearing between shaft 82 I1 is mounted on bevel gear 88 the base of cylinder 66 and is driven by a bevel gear 69 fastened to shaft whi projection 1| provided on the cam. The ring is 72 and engages a screw-thread 13 (Fig. 7) in bracket 14 and two other brackets mounted on base 58. By means of a handle or crank 15 the ring 10 is screwed in or out to move the cam 65 down or up. To give the operator convenient control of handle 15, a wheel 16 is rotatably mounted on an arm 11 of bracket 14. A finger 19 projecting from crank 15 engages a slot 18 (Fig. in wheel 16 to transmit the rotary movement of wheel 16 to ring 10.

What I claim is:

1. In a knitting machine comprising needles for knitting polychrome yarn having a recurring sequence of colored spots into a fabric having a predetermined color pattern, a color guide adjacent the yarn and bearing visible elements corresponding to at least one of the colored spots on the yarn, means for moving the guide and the yarn with respect to one another so that said visible elements and the corresponding colored spots on the yarn will remain in correspondence with one another if the pattern is knitted as predetermined, and means for varying the size or the stitches to compensate for displacement of said corresponding spots on the yarn with respect to said visible elements.

2. In a knitting machine for knitting polycreme yarn into a fabric having a predetermined color pattern, a color guide against which a portion of the yarn may be viewed, means for moving the intersection of a visible element of the color guide with the yarn at the same rate as the predetermined rate at which the yarn must move to form the color pattern, and means for varying the size or the stitches being formed to compensate for difierences between the two movements.

3. In a knitting machine for knitting polychrome yarn into a fabric having a predetermined color pattern, yarn guides for holding the yarn straight over a substantial length on its path towards the machine, a color guide against which the straight yarn may be viewed, means for moving the intersection of a visible element 01 the color guide with the yarn at the same rate as the predetermined rate at'which the yarn must move to form the color pattern, and means for varying the size of the stitches being formed to compensate for differences between the two movements.

4. In a flat knitting machine for knitting polychrome yam having. a recurring sequence of coloredspots into a fabric having predetermined color pattern, means including the needles or the machine for drawing yarn from a supply to form stitches, means for holding .the yarn straight over a substantial length, a color guide adjacent said length or yarn and bearing visible elements corresponding to at least one or the colored spots on the yarn, said elements being in the form of at least one bar for a colored spot on the yarn and at an angle to the longitudinal I for knitting polychrome yarn the yarn, means machine for drawing stitches, means for holding the yarn vertical over j main in correspondence said stripes.

axis of the yarn, means for moving said length of yarn laterally with respect to said guide so that said stripe will remain in correspondence with the colored spot which it represents, and means for varying pensate for displacement of the corresponding spots on the yam with respect to said bar.

5. In a fiat knitting machine for knitting polychrome yarn into a fabric having a predetermined color pattern, yarn guides for holding the yarn straight over a substantial length on its path towards the machine, a color guide against which the straight yarn may ing the intersection of a visible element of the color guide with the yarn at the same rate as the predetermined rate at which the yarn must move to form the color pattern, and means for varying the size of the stitches being formed to compensate for differences between the rate of movement of the yarn and its predetermined rate.

6. In a knitting machine comprising needles having a recurring sequence oi colored spots into a fabric having a predetermined color pattern, a color guide adjacent the yarn and bearing visible elements corresponding to at least one of the colored spots on for moving the guide'and the yarn with respect to one another so that said visible elements and the corresponding colored spots on-the yarn will remain in correspondence with one another, and means for varying the size of the stitches to compensate for displacement of said corresponding spots on the yarn with respect to the said visible elements including a cam for moving the needles, and a handle for varying the position of the cam relative to the needles.

7. In a flat knitting machine for knitting polychrome yam having a recurring sequence 0! colored spots into a fabric having predetermined color pattern, means including the needles or the yarn from a supply to form a substantial length, a vertical sheet behind said length or yarn and bearing marks corresponding spots on the yarn, said marks being in the form of colored strips corresponding to the colored spots on the yarn and sloping down from one side 01 the sheet toward the other, the width of the stripe as measured along the yarn being the same as the length or the colored spot which it represents, means for moving said length or yarn laterally with respect to said sheet so with the colored spots which they represent, and means for varying the size 01 the stitches to compensate for displacement or the spots on the yarn with respect to RTH R H. Amman.

the size of the stitches to combe viewed, means for mov-' that said stripes will re- 

